I have never really documented the work I do on my cars, but figure this might be a good place to start as I have not seen too many people out there running these Rebel Racing Bushings.

Start with a little back story:

A long time ago, in a state far far away... or at least as far left as you can go on the map. 13 or so years ago, before I did much work on my own cars I had some failing front bushings replaced with poly ones by a local alignment shot. They were ok aside from squeaking all the time, but then I really didn't push my car to the limit on a regular basis back then. Fast forward to today, been autocrossing for 5 or so years, always felt like the car has pushed really bad in the tighter stuff and always seems to lose traction in the front WAY to easy under breaking. Came to the conclusion that a lot of it is probably the poly bushings in the front sucking major @$$ and binding all the time. I had not planned on doing this upgrade this year but a failed rear bushing meant I had to get an alignment anyways so I figured might as well just do them all.

Decided to go with the Rebel front setup as I like the design and don't like having to lube bushings all the time.


Crapy phone pics to come...

Snag #1:
Never fun to have a sway bar mounting tab break off in your hand 1 week before the next autox. Thankfully I have a spare control arm, and it even has a decent balljoint.

I suspect this was due to a combination of the mechanic who installed the polys losing the spacer for the end link on this side, combined with the amount of force required to move the stuck control arms, and also the fact that I had adjusted the swaybar to full soft in an attempt to compensate. Angle +force = SNAP

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*sigh* really? This is how ONE of the control arms looked when it came off. I could understand maybe if they put them both on backwards, but just one side?!! Half @$$ crap like this is why no one touches my cars but me anymore

Also want to point out that these are poly bushings, they don't flex like rubber, so I would expect to be able to get at least some movement out of the control arm when I apply force. Stood as much weight on it as I could without shifting the car of the jackstands and NOTHING, no movement at all. think that pretty much confirmed I may have not been getting as much as I could out of my front suspension.

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The poly bushings dont soften under heat like rubber, they liquify, so at least they came off easy after taking a map torch to the housing. The spare arm I used had rubber which also came off pretty easy but did require a bit of twisting around the arm.



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So, this was just going to be a quick job of swapping the bushings, and plan on powdercoating the arms this winter, but as I had to replace one of the arms, the patina didnt match between the 2, and I can be a bit obssessive....

Figured I could a least protect them a bit for now and make them match
Clean & sand:
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Primer:
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Paint:
was going to get some flat black but I had some left over Rustoleum "Hammered" that I just love the look of.
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Before and After
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Races installed
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Purdy!
Install was quite a bit easier then disassembly. JB weld the races to the arms and the races just slide in the housings. Where I had ZERO movement with the polys, these things are like sex lube on ice! Completely dry as well, zero grease needed ever so I don't expect their performance is going to change much over time as I don't have to worry about grease drying up.

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Should be able to finish getting everything back together tonight. Hopefully the forecast was wrong and it doesent rain for the next 3 days as I really want to try these out. I am somewhat concerned that I will need to wind up going with bigger torsion bars now as i think the polys were massively increaseing the stiffness in the front end. Either way I am super excited to see how they feel as I know they will be an improvement.

Something I want to point out on the poly bushings, these were the older, soft compund polys, installed with a hammer by a bunch of idiots. I actually installed Erics polys as a replacement in my rear control arms, and when properly fitted for both the diamater of the control arm axle, as well as its length, then lubed with 508 copper antiseize, they move freely and are so far quiet, so I think it depends a lot on how they are installed.

Can you explain what properly fitted for the length and diameter means........I have to do this one and want to get it right. I haven't seen a thread that pictorially shows this.......for the rear bushings ....I mean.

Next time put the smaller tube on the control arm in the pipe jaw of your vise, not the flats. The flats will oval the torsion bar tubes. The control arm won't roll on you this way.

Thats a good idea, this was not clamped down hard at all though so I think i am ok. Didnt need to lock it down hard as the polys slid right off once they melted and the rubber ones I just rotatated in the direction where the control arm was supported by its cross beam on the vise. Supprisingly little force was need, especally compared to how tough the rears were to get out.

Ill see if I can do this without pictures but, the first thing that needs to be fit is the inner bore of the bushing to the control arm shaft. Eric actually did this part for me while I was at his shop, it basically involves honeing out the bore of the bushing until it is a correct fit on the shaft (you should be able to slide them on by hand) The idea with these is that they rotate around the shaft (unlike the rubber that flexes) The bushings should be cool while testing on the shaft as they expand when warm and also the fit needs to be tested with the bushings and shaft in the control arm.

The second fitting is the exposed face of the bushing once it is installed in the shaft. What happens if this is not shaved down to a hair under the length of the rod is that the bushing gets pinched between the control arm and the mounting ears. This is one thing that i dont entirely like about the polys in the rear is that the busing face needs to slide against the mounting ear (which it was not originally designed to do) I made sure that the ears were as clean and flat as possible and also added lube to that area as well. It looks like the elephant racing kit uses a large washer on the inner face of the mounting ear as a race, i am guessing they recognized this area as a problem as well.

You need to be real carefull with both of these fittings as just a little to much movement in the bushing creates a pretty noticeable movement of the control arm.

Looking good James.

Rebel has some cool stuff.

Ok James and thanks nice work. No hijack meant but here are a few pics. I did get these from Eric and did speak with him briefly on the subject......Utah is a beautiful place but I wished he lived out here!
Here are a couple of pics. So what you mean is that the outside bushing....the side of the arm that mounts nearest the long...should be ground down so that the Shorr facing of the inner shaft is flush with the outside of the bushing. The inner shaft or mounting pivot is a tight fit cold...but I can move it by hand through the bushings with very firm pressure. Any comments by your good self are welcome.

Rob



Some pics:


The inner swing arm side. The inner pivot is flush to slightly offset from the bushing. I am assuming this is right.

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The next is the outer side of the swing arm. This is what looks wrong to me. From the conversations I have had with folks....this also needs to be flush with the pivot shaft. Meaning...I need to shave the bushing down so that the pivot shaft will cinch against the mount.


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Big thanks to Bruce Stone for the swing arm parts....shameless plug.

Another view of the swing arm bushing:


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any positive comments are appreciated.

Put a large flat washer on both sides with a large enough hole to clear the pivot shaft diameter on both sides. Torque both sides down and let it sit over night. See if the bushing will compress a bit. Hell bolt it in the car. Remember its a new bushing not a bearing so some interference is expected. It will compress.

The factory always recommended installing the trailing arm horizontal to the car not drooped (hanging down) and then tightening the pivot shaft bolts.

Funny.. I just noticed this under the banner.

"This site is not affiliated with Porsche in any way".

Hilarious! Did Shea come up up with that disclaimer?

Yup, just take a little (even amount) off both sides until you are pretty much flush. Go slow though and test fit often, there is a very thin line between not binding and to much off. I went just a hair too far on one side and that less then a mm gap is pretty noticeable with everything installed. I then cheated and used a ring of gasket maker on the back side of that face to make up the difference, maybe not the best solution but I am not sure at this point how long they are going to stay in the car.

Eric also recomends jb welding them into the contorl arm and installing zerks, I have not yet, again because I am not sure how long they will be in there.


Maybe Eric can add some more tips here, all my info came from him.

Anyone else notice the crack in this picture? I have known it was there for some time as you can see it in the front trunk but after examing it closer due to a bit of binding when installing the new bushings on that side it seems like it might be related to the poly bushing freezing up as well, I am guessing also related to the damage to the sway bar tab. I suspect that due to lack of front suspension movement the swaybar tab was at times acting as a fulcrum causing the suspension crossmember to be pulled away from the chasis. The tear goes right across the top of the mount for the crossmember. The binding when installing the new bushings was due to the control arm wanting to angle up towards the front of the car. As this can not be corrected with the adjusting washers I had to take a 2x4 and a sledge to see if I could straighten it out a bit. Its slightly better now but not great, nowhere near as free moving as the drivers side. Oh well, just have to live with it for the moment as I am pressed for time. I know of a shop in town with a celette bench, might have to make an appointment this winter to get it straightened and stiched up.

As the crack has been there for quite a while I am not to concerned to autox with it a few more times, has not seemed to be getting any worse. Think i might have to sit it out next year though if i dont get this taken care of this winter.

Looks really nasty in close ups.
Anyone else seen this sort of thing before?

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Pretty common. Ive seen cracks around the sheetmetal boss and along the arch of the pinchweld. Aside from the old bushings being stuck; how low is your car? Does the suspension bottom out a lot and has it ever been in a collision on that side of the car. Any more metal fatigue visible under the car at the footwell.

I'd fix it now. Its only going to get worse by driving it. It's a safety issue.

At least "stop drill" that crack.

Pretty much spot on James. Jeff, these bushings don't compress. They're very hard at 70D.

Here's some final updates to the 70D bushing thread:

1. Use the McMaster 1x3" sanding drum to hone the bore to match the shaft. As James mentioned, this is a trial fit method. I like to use the drum in a drill press and spin the bushing as I move it up and down. Also, as mentioned herein, the bushing can get warm and expand. What is a "snug fit" just after honing will become a tight to no fit when it cools slightly. Do one until it just fits, then move on to another. While you're honing that bushing the first one will cool enough to trial fit. THEY SHOULD BE VERY SNUG. The weight of the car and the grease will allow for precise movement without binding. Once you have the trial fit on each shaft, keep the units together. McMaster Parts #46715A84

2. Next, trial fit the bushings in the arm. The arms are not precise and (hopefully) your bushing hone job is. This means you may need to take a little bit more off the inside to get the shaft through bushing. Before honing again, try different combinations. Make a mental note and keep the bushings and rod ends in the same orientation throughout this process.

3. Once you get the arms to fit through the bushings you'll need to address the tops. I do this with a sanding disc, again, in the drill press. As mentioned above, keep the units together in the same orientation now that you have them all fitting in the arms. Take one bushing at a time and put it in the press vise if you have one and mill the top down using 80 grit and disc holder McMaster Part #4702A71. You'll probably end up taking almost 1/2 the beveled step down in this process. Again, trial fit until the knurled edges of the shaft are exposed on each end. Try to take equal amounts off the top of each bushing.

4. Once you have all of the shafts fitting in the bushings and the ends of the bushings are set to the proper depth behind the knurled ends, JB Weld the bushings in place and forget about them for 24 hours.

5. Install zerks 15/16" down from the lip. On the outside section of the tube (the long tube side) install the zerk in the center of the tube facing back toward the hub. On the inside section of the tube (the part closest to where it bolts to the body mount) install the zerk down and by the handbrake tab (early cars). To install zerks properly you'll want to follow a few simple steps. a ) mask off the location with 3M blue tape and make a x mark where you want the zerk to go. b ) use a punch and indent the arm where you are going to drill (on the x presumably). c ) get a good quality bit that won't dull the first time you use it and make sure it's the exact size you need to tap your zerk hole. d ) drill and tap. e ) remove the tape and install the zerk. DON'T GO CRAZY TRYING TO LINE UP THE ZERK WHERE YOU WANT IT! It will snap off in your newly tapped hole.

These are not the standard plastic bushings. They are made by the same manufacturer but using the hardest compound they have. If installed properly and lubricated annually they should last a lifetime and never squeak. That said; James brings up a good point... he may not have them in there forever. I don't think JB Weld will be a problem as all you would need to do is heat them with a torch and the JB weld should come loose. I do suggest the 15/16" placement of the zerks because that is where the Elephant PolyBronze zerks go. If you do decide to install Elephants you'll be ready to go. In his case, he has the Rebel unit up front and may want to go with the Rebel 914 rears when they come available. Based upon the Rebel "teflon" type front technology you won't need zerks but those holes can easily be plugged if you go that route..

RE: Crack - Call Troy and get it in. I think he has a window right now between Mike's car and mine. 1/2 hour fix.

I think your bound up arm caused this.

yeah, can he get it in before like, friday though? still need to get it aligned before sunday

Haven't hooked the sway bar back up yet or got an alignment yet, but took it out for the first test drive this morning and I am loving it! SO much quieter and smoother now, I was aiming for imperfections in the road just so I could enjoy the lack of a ruckus that used to be caused by even a tiny pebble.

Don't think I will need to go stiffer torsion bars in the front, everything still feels pretty tight, I think hooking the sway bar back up should be enough.

Still a bit of a squeak from the right rear (the side I didn't go too far on) so I will need to go back and work the face of that one a tiny bit more, but overall, WOW, I would be happy using this car on the street again.

I did ... What's so "Hilarious" about it?

Thanks for the info James...and Eric. I didn't know there was a thread on these?

Will do on the rears as suggested. I am hoping for at least three years play with these hard durometer bushings at least.

Just a question on the fronts that you used James....how does the road noise and vibration stack up on the street in your opinion?. I know this is subjective since you ax your car apparently.

Thanks for the thread.

I would suspect you would get a lot longer then 3 years out of the rears if they are installed properly, and re-lubed on a semi regular basis.

As for how they stack up on the street, keep in mind I have only driven of them for about 10 minutes at this point, but compared to the polys its a HUGE difference. I had for the most part stopped driving this car on the street when I moved to Utah due to it just being to rough and noisy (didnt bother me on califormia freeways as they were a lot smoother)

With the new setup being so fluid its allowing the suspension to absorb the bumps rather then transmit them through the chasis (or just ripping the chasis apart) so despite being 100% solid bushings they give a suprising smooth ride. Ill give an update after i get the car alligned and get more time on them, but right now I am thinking I am going to start driving it on the street more. This is on a car running no carpet, no sound pads, and 215/45-16s with very stiff sidewalls at 37PSI cold.

To add a little more perspective, I had had a rattle comming from behind my head for quite a while (either the window seal or possibly the engine lid) I didnt really pay to much attention to it before as the entire car was resonating sound. On my short test drive all i could think of was how I wanted to fix that rattle as it was the only thing I was picking up on other then the sound of the engine. I would guess that on a stock car the ride would be not at all unplesant.

I still need to hook up the sway bar again, but with just bilstiens and turbo tie rods the front end feels razor sharp.

Capece Mr. Shea,
70 is a pretty firm durometer. You could drive on that or roller skate.